NC Seafood Festival Ends, As Hundreds Honor Fishermen With Blessing

The North Carolina Seafood Festival is now at an end, but not before a tradition took place intended to safe guard those who work on the high seas.

Hundreds showed up Sunday morning at the State Port for the Blessing of the Fleet ceremony.

The non denominational service was set up directly facing the water at the the port around 10 a.m. and lasted a few hours.

The service is intended to honor the men and women who are commercial fishermen, that risk their lives to supply the area with local fresh seafood, as well as those who have lost their life doing the job.

Sandra Gaskill organized the blessing, "It's like going to church, if you've missed this you've missed everything, and it's to bless these fishermen, the ones that are gone and the ones that are here now. When they go out, it's important we have preachers singing, you know everything you would have in a church service."

Following the service, a fleet of boats passed by, each throwing a wreath into the water to represent the lives lost.

We encourage commenting on our stories to give you a chance to express your opinion. We rely upon the online community to report abuse. Repeat violators may be banned from posting comments.
CLICK HERE for the witn.com guidelines for posting comments.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.